Ideas for Teaching the Diamond Shape to Preschoolers

Written by cindy phillips

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The diamond is one of many shapes to teach preschoolers. (coloured shapes image by Leslie Batchelder from Fotolia.com)

Teaching shapes is a fundamental learning activity for preschoolers. There are endless examples of shapes all around us, but with the short attention span of children under the age of five, the trick is finding ways to capture their attention. The diamond is a basic shape, along with squares and circles, so determining unique ways to teach it to preschoolers can be easy with a little creativity.

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Create Characters

Ask students to create their own diamond-shaped storybook characters such as a Diamond Dinosaur, David the Diamond, or a Diamond Doggie. Have them draw and colour their character, explaining that any and all parts of the character can be shaped like a diamond such as hands, feet, eyes, noses, etc. Once they have drawn their characters, ask each student to show the picture to the class and explain how their characters use their diamond-shaped features. Then have them tell a story about their character.

Outdoor Activities

Take students to a baseball diamond for a visual application. Explain the four bases and how they correlate to the four points of the diamond shape. Allow students to run the bases so they can feel the four lines needed to create the diamond shape.

In an open field, have groups of two or four students lay down to form diamond shapes with their bodies. Fly a diamond-shaped kite with students. While students are outdoors, have them explore the area and try to find diamond shapes around them. Ask them to draw diamond shapes in the dirt or on the pavement using chalk.

A baseball diamond is an ideal teaching example. (pregame second base image by Jim Mills from Fotolia.com)

Arts and Crafts

Have students create diamond-shaped crafts using Popsicle sticks, beads, straws or pipe cleaners. Let them draw diamonds onto poster board or construction paper and then decorate using crayons, sparkles, paint, stickers or other age-appropriate decorating items. Collect calendars from the prior year and cut out all the squares for each day. Demonstrate to students that a square can be turned into a diamond when tilted in a different direction. Let students create a new calendar page with all diamonds instead of squares.

Turn the squares into diamonds from an old calendar. (valentine calendar image by Stephen VanHorn from Fotolia.com)

Everyday Applications

Show students examples of diamond shapes in everyday items such as argyle sweaters or socks, wrapping paper or wallpaper samples, and a deck of cards. Ask students to look around the room to find objects in the shape of a diamond. List the answers on a board. Then take students on a "field trip" around the school, again asking them to point out diamond-shaped objects. When you return to the classroom, have students draw three pictures of diamond-shaped items they saw on their trip.